Local Radar

Outdoors
By Freddy Petersen

Sharing the land

web posted April 12, 2006

Turkey season began Saturday April 1st.  My son, Jeff, and I had agreed to hunt opening weekend at a hunt club an hour away, and spend the weekdays in the Forks area of Sumter National Forest which is closer to home.  Earlier in the season, I had observed several toms while I reported on the construction of the new FATS mountain biking trail.  The new FATS mountain biking trail is a great addition to the Forks area for mountain bike riders, hikers, and hunters alike.  The trail really opens access to this game management area.  In terms of hunting, using the trail allows you to cover a lot of land quickly; so locating the toms shouldn’t be hard at all. 

Monday morning was a beautiful morning, clear skies, cool temps, perfect weather.  We walked and called turkeys without any luck.  It seemed as though no toms were to be found.  As we were leaving the trailhead, around 10 a.m., we noticed a mountain bike rider pulling into the parking area of the FATS trail.  I thought this was very strange; certainly this person knows it is hunting season on this land and the risk involved in riding the trail during hunting season? 

Later that evening, I saw more riders going into the new trail to ride!  Now, I’m thinking, ‘This is crazy.  I know the trail is new, and everyone wants to ride, but come on, guys this is so dangerous!’ 

Five hunters were in the woods at the time these riders got on the trail.  Aside from the potential danger to the bike riders, it is unfair to the hunters who have hunted here for years because the riders are scaring the game.  Earlier in the month, I was talking with the designer of the trail (Bill Victor) and I assured him that hunters were happy that the trail was being developed.  I told him the trail would help hunters during the two main hunting seasons, (deer and turkey).  I also said, I hoped riders would be considerate of hunters and not use the trail during these hunting seasons.

I believe most club riders avoid the GMA trails during hunting season, however it is obvious to me there are some riders who ignore the dangers and ride anyway.  Here lies the problem.  While some of these riders simply do not know any better, there are people in every group that are not considerate of others.  There are mountain bike riders and hunters alike who ignore the rights of others even when it is dangerous. 

I love to ride the trails and I love to hunt.  The Forestry Service and the Department of Natural Resources determine who uses the land and when with the goal of making this great resource available to the largest group of people.  It would be helpful if signs were posted on the trail heads to inform riders and hikers of hunting seasons’ dates.  It seems likely that hunters should have use during the short hunting seasons for deer and turkey.  The mountain bike riders and hikers get to use the area for the rest of the year.  Mountain bike riders also get to use the land on Sunday when hunting is not allowed on GMA’s land.  I hope this article will bring out discussion on this topic so we all can get full use of this valuable resource and make reasonable changes before someone gets seriously hurt or killed.


 
 

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